Company guilty over employee burns

Companies are being warned they must provide employees with suitable protective equipment after a Leicester firm was fined for failing to do so.

Harrison Castings was fined £5,300 and ordered to pay £2,134.10 in costs as well as £2,000 compensation to a member of staff who suffered injuries in an incident in August 2007.

Gordon Fowkes suffered serious burns to his hands and arms after being burnt by a blowback of molten metal as he removed a mould plug during a casting operation, requiring several skin grafts and spending five days in hospital.

The firm pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 6(1) and 10(1) of the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 in failing to carry out an assessment on the suitability of gloves provided for staff use and for not ensuring the proper use of protective equipment.

"I hope this will serve as a reminder to employers and to managers who have specific responsibility for protective equipment that the safety of their staff is paramount and they have a duty to ensure the right equipment is provided for the right job," Munera Sidat, one of HM inspectors responsible for Leicestershire, said.

According to the HSE there is a risk of fire in the workplace involving liquids such as petrol, dust and gases.